List of product brands > Audio-visual electronics > musical instrument > Folk guitar > Folk guitar brand rankings Updated: 2025-02-21

2025 Folk Guitar Brand Rankings

[2025 Folk Guitar Brand Ranking] Relying on the big data of the whole network, the folk guitar brands selected according to the brand awareness, brand strength, word-of-mouth evaluation and sales popularity of folk guitars (in no particular order): Martin, Taylor, Lowden, Gibson, Carpet, Santa cruz, Lakewood, Eastman, Seagull, Farida, YAMAHA, Takamine, Cort, Samick, Kepma, Starsun, if you're looking for a folk guitar, what's the best brand? This folk guitar brand ranking list is for your reference only.

TOP.1

Martin United States

Music History, Martin History. Modern music has only been around for a little over a hundred years, and Martin has been making guitars since 1833. Martin is the creator of the folk guitar, defining the shape, structure and tone of the folk guitar, we are familiar with the D-shaped piano, OM type piano are Martin's first creation, Martin is also the largest selling brand of steel string guitar, directly affecting most of the guitar manufacturers. Over the years, Martin has been the first choice of countless musicians and guitarists, as well as the guitar lover's dream. The biggest feature of Martin guitar is that it has abundant volume and explosive sound, which is mainly related to Martin's sound beam manufacturing process. The sound beam cutting and sound beam forward moving process adopted by Martin ensures the bearing capacity of the panel, so that the panel and the bridge part have more sufficient vibration, so that Martin has a full volume that is different from ordinary guitars. This has something to do with Martin's original intention in designing the guitar, Martin's classic D-shaped design was inspired by the dreadnought battleship that sank German submarines in World War I, hence the name Dreadnought...

JD.com flagship store

1

Score

95

popularity

20419
TOP.2

Taylor Taylor United States

For more than 150 years before Taylor's appearance, Martin had not faced a rival, but in the last 40 years, Taylor has taken over a large part of the high-end guitar market and posed a great threat to Martin. Compared with Martin's magnificence, Taylor seems relatively graceful, emphasizing innovation and technology, modern and fashionable design, full of a youthful atmosphere, from the use of Taylor guitar artists can also be seen, foreign Taylor Swift, Jason Mraz, Matsui Yugui to domestic Li Jian, Zeng Yike are loyal users of Taylor guitars. Generally speaking, the stronger the body material, the longer sustain can be obtained, but due to the lack of elasticity to bring enough air oscillation, the volume tends to be weakened, Martin solved the volume problem with a cutting sound beam, but the sustain is slightly weaker, and Taylor's original V-shaped sound beam, which balances the volume and sustain performance of the guitar well. Compared to the traditional X-beam, the V-beam reduces the vibration suppression of the top and improves the volume, while maintaining the strength of the guitar top and allowing the strings to vibrate for longer sustains. Currently, Taylor's V-shape...

2

Score

94

popularity

6197
TOP.3

Lowden Ireland

Lowden is a handmade guitar brand with a wide audience among musicians in the UK and Europe. With the use of Pierre Bensusan, more and more people have a soft spot for Lowden, and guitarists such as Eric Roche, Alex De Grassi, Jacques Stotzem, and young guitarists Andy Mckee and Thomas Leeb are all users of Lowden. Lowden's guitar has distinct Irish national characteristics, enthusiastic and unrestrained, Lowden's timbre is also relatively outgoing, with large volume, solid sound and strong resonance. Because of its large body design and curved sound beams known as dolphins, the guitar top is more fully vocalized, and Lowden is recognizable in terms of sound characteristics with the soft balance of a nylon-string guitar and the dynamics of a steel-stringed guitar. Many people will think that the handmade piano is usually done by the luthier alone, and is handmade from beginning to end, but in fact, a considerable part of the modern handmade guitar luthier making process uses power tools, and the studio luthier division of labor, the first contemporary luthier Ervin Somogyi has described the handmade piano: based on the luthier...

3

Score

93

popularity

18951
TOP.4

Gibson United States

Gibson was founded in 1902 in Tennessee, USA, and manufactures acoustic and electric guitars. Gibson has been acquired three times in its history, and in May 2018, Gibson officially filed for bankruptcy reorganization, but Gibson's main business will continue as usual, but the strategic direction has been adjusted, closing the previously formed electronic accessories division, which will focus on guitar manufacturing. Gibson is a brand born and raised in the United States, compared with Martin of European origin, in terms of overall style, Gibson can better represent the grassroots people in the United States, free and romantic, with a touch of wild and uninhibited. In terms of sound performance, Gibson is not as rich in bass performance as Martin, but highlights the high midrange, strong grain, and sweeter timbre, which is suitable for some solo and monophonic playing, which is why rock bands mostly use Gibson instead of Martin. And Gibson also seems to have an innate charm, which is deeply loved by many singer-songwriters, such as Charlie Christian, Beatles, Elvis Presley Presley in foreign countries and Xu Wei, Pu Shu, Wang Feng, etc., all of whom are loyal users of Gibson. The barrel shape of Gibson guitars can be roughly divided into SJ and J types、...

Tmall flagship store

4

Score

91

popularity

6389
TOP.5

Carpet Australia

Founded in 1946, Carpet is Australia's longest-running and most famous guitar manufacturer. Founder Bill May is known as the founder of the industry by Australian luthiers, his focus on making high-quality acoustic guitars has won the recognition of internationally renowned players, such as Carpet, the queen brand of Australian national treasure Tommy Emmanuel, and such as Eric Johnson, Josh Homme, Zhu Jiaming and other players are endorsed by him. Carpet's pickup system has always been an industry leader and is probably one of the most authentic and natural tones on the market today. The reason is that the Carpet pickups are independently developed, and there are very few guitar companies on the market that can independently develop the pickup system, and the Carpet pickups can be more in line with the sound tonality of the guitars they produce, so that the pickups and guitars complement each other. Carpet's best-selling series are mainly SRS series and EBG series. Among them, the SRS series is Carpet's relatively low-cost all-veneer series, priced at about 10,000 yuan, with spruce panels, ebony back side panels, rosewood fingerboard configuration, and AP5 or AP5 Pro pickup system. The AP5 Pro series is based on the classic AP5Mic...

5

Score

89

popularity

19351
TOP.6

Santa cruz United States

Santa Cruz is a famous American handmade guitar manufacturer, abbreviated as SCGC, known as the Lamborghini of the guitar world. SCGC does not position itself as a traditional guitar factory, but as a private custom shop, and they have spent years building up a very comprehensive custom catalog, with options ranging from wood types, beam construction, body inlays and edging, neck and headstock design, etc., which is why SCGC's production is also low in the field of handmade guitars, producing only about 1,000 guitars per year. The temperature and humidity in the SCGC studio are strictly controlled, which makes the SCGC guitar extremely stable and able to withstand all kinds of harsh environments. For a long time, SCGC has established cooperative relations with many star artists in Europe and the United States, and its playing styles have also tended to be diversified, including the famous bluegrass master Tony Rice, folk singer Brad Paisley, fingerstyle player Eric Skye, etc. SCGC's barrel types are mainly divided into Baritone type, OM type, D type, F type, and H type, among which OM type, D type, and H type are the most classic and best-selling models. Even if it is the same model, the SCGC guitar will be stored due to different configurations.

6

Score

88

popularity

19535
TOP.7

Lakewood Germany

Lakewood is an outstanding representative of the classic European piano, established in 1986 by the famous German luthier Martin Seeliger, with a crystal clear and clean tone, is the favorite brand of many master guitarists, Korean guitar genius Jung Sung-ha and the godfather of the German fingerstyle world Ulli Boegershausen have Lakewood's signature piano, and because of this special voice, Lakewood has become the favorite guitar brand of many fingerstyle players. Lakewood guitars fully consider the hand shape of Asian piano friends, most of the imported models are customized specifications, the guitar sold in Europe and the United States is about 46mm wide, and the Asian side is about 42mm, which is more suitable for the size of Asian palms, so it is easier to adapt to European pianos such as Lowden. At present, Lakewood adopts semi-manual and semi-mechanized production, mainly divided into Natural series, Deluxe series, Premium series, the neck of the three series is mahogany, the fingerboard bridge is ebony, and the knobs are also from Germany's top knob brand Schaller. The Natural series is mainly made of spruce or pine as the panel, mahogany...

7

Score

86

popularity

20039
TOP.8

Eastman United States

Eastman is a musical instrument brand founded by Chinese-American flutists in Boston, starting with the production of the first violin in 1992, and quickly became popular in the United States with solid workmanship and excellent quality. Today, Eastman has grown into an international comprehensive Western musical instrument company with products for violin, guitar, woodwind, and brass. Eastman's folk guitar is known as the civilian version of Martin, which means that the price of Eastman is much lower than that of big brands when making the violin from the same specification material, and it has a high level of tone and feel, which is widely praised in the European and American markets. Take Eastman's high-end model E20 as an example, this is a retro model specially produced after the Martin D28, with a spruce top with a rosewood back and an ebony fretboard, and the sound beam design is also the same as that of the Martin. It can be said that this instrument largely replicates Martin's sound, but also has its own characteristics in terms of high frequency and driveability, and the price is less than half that of Martin. Eastman's guitar product line is extremely rich, from 1,000 yuan entry-level guitars to 10,000 yuan high-end series.

8

Score

81

popularity

10472
TOP.9

Seagull Canada

Most of the world's leading guitar brands have OEM production in Asia, while the North American musical instrument company Seagull Guitar still has a chain in Canada and the United States, including wood, pickups, related accessories, factories and luthiers. And Seagull has also won a good market reputation with its affordable price, excellent quality and all-round style. The Seagull's performance in terms of pitch is outstanding. Many guitar enthusiasts will find that after tuning each string individually, the tone is still inaccurate, and often needs to go back for further fine-tuning, because the tension of the string is changed during the tuning process, and the neck will be slightly deformed accordingly. Tuning is therefore not only about adjusting the strings, but also about maintaining the balance of the neck. The tapered headstock of the Seagull guitar provides a vertical string pull that minimizes the effect of neck twisting. This makes it easy for the guitar to tune the strings and stay in tune for long periods of time, which is especially beneficial for a large number of players who use open tuning. In terms of the neck, the Seagull has also been strengthened, and some maple nails have been implanted at the root of the neck with originality...

9

Score

80

popularity

13177
TOP.10

Farida Guangdong

The guitar originated in Spain, developed in the United States, and today the largest production base is in China. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China currently produces 50%-70% of the world's guitar production, and is already the world's largest guitar manufacturer and consumer. From the early days of OEM for European and American brands, to the creation of their own brands, Chinese brands continue to accumulate technology and experience, and gradually occupy a place in the field of guitar manufacturing, and Farida is currently recognized by the industry as the best quality Chinese guitar brand. Falida is affiliated to Huizhou Quanfeng Yule Products Co., Ltd., and its sub-brands also include Marina and Meridian. Quanfeng was once ranked as the 165th largest musical instrument manufacturer in the world by Music Trade, an international professional magazine in the musical instrument and audio industry, when there were only eight musical instrument manufacturers in China on this list, and Quanfeng was the only professional guitar manufacturer among them. The Farida brand is positioned as a high-end one, aimed at lovers of changing the piano for the second time, creating a guitar that can be used for a lifetime, as can be seen from some details. The glue used by Farida is a glue made from cowhide, which is usually used in the United States...

JD.com flagship store Tmall flagship store

10

Score

78

popularity

13956
TOP.11

YAMAHA Japan

Founded in Japan in 1887, Yamaha Corporation is one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments, with a product line that includes pianos, guitars, electronic organs, violins, wind instruments, percussion, and other products, each of which has achieved a good market position in its own field. In the list of the top 225 in the global musical instrument and audio products industry released by Music Trades, Yamaha ranks first every year, and its sales revenue is far ahead. As an instrument giant, Yamaha guitars have always represented mid-range and entry-level guitars. Yamaha has two guitar factories around the world, with the factory in Indonesia focusing on entry-level models and the factory in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, China, focusing on mid-to-high-end models. Yamaha's mainland factories only produce Yamaha's own guitars and never manufacture them for other brands, which is truly unique in the guitar industry, which is popular in the OEM business. It is said that the guitar industry is very deep, partly because many guitar manufacturers on the market have the phenomenon of false standards of materials. For example, the neck, which is an important sound-producing component that conducts vibrations, uses a wooden neck to pass off as a mahogany core...

JD.com flagship store Tmall flagship store

11

Score

77

popularity

7951
TOP.12

Takamine Japan

Takamine means peak in Chinese. Unlike Yamaha's affordable mass positioning, Takamine is relatively niche in the domestic market, with an unruly temperament and a diverse style. The face of fingerstyle is Oshio-san, the well-known user of rock music is Kurt Cobain, and the famous bands Bon Jovi and Eagles also use Takamine guitars. Takamine is very distinctive in terms of neck design, the neck is slightly wide, it is an asymmetrical C-shape, which can make the neck fit more in the palm of the hand, suitable for multi-style playing, whether it is finger playing that requires pushing and kneading, or closed chord transitions in rock music, it can be very smooth. Taka's product line is relatively complex, roughly divided into G series and D series, and the larger the serial number in the back, the higher the grade. The body is classified as Type D, Type NEX, and Type New Yorker, with the D being the deepest and the NEX being the clearest, with the New Yorker being in between. The GN51CE is a Taka NEX box shape, with a classic configuration of spruce and rosewood back side panels, with a well-balanced and layered tone. On the side panel, Takamine TP-4TD pickups are installed, which have tuning and three-band EQ adjustment functions.

12

Score

76

popularity

12906
TOP.13

Cort Court Korea

Founded in 1960, Kaut is Korea's No. 1 guitar and bass brand. Courter started out in the OEM business and started producing his own brand of guitars after the 70s. Up to now, Court's international influence has been quite extensive, and its reputation in Europe, America and Asia is good. Due to the unclear demand for guitars and the limited budget, many beginners will mistakenly buy a poor quality burning stick and bury their guitar path. The burning stick guitar is generally 100-200 yuan, the material is inferior plywood, the taste is pungent, the appearance is bright, the feel is poor, not to mention the sound performance, the learning interest of novices is a disastrous blow, so beginners must avoid burning sticks, Pai Xingbao also recommends that the budget of the first guitar for novices should not be less than 500 yuan. Courter guitars are aimed at the entry-level mid-range market and are suitable for beginners as their first guitar purchase. Among them, the AD series and the Earth series are quite popular on the Internet. AD full series for plywood, this material of the guitar in the sound performance is certainly not as good as the single guitar, the advantage is that the maintenance difficulty is slightly lower, because each part has two or three layers...

JD.com flagship store

13

Score

72

popularity

14851
TOP.14

Samick Sanyi Korea

Founded in 1958, Tri-benefits is Korea's largest integrated manufacturer of musical instruments and one of the world's largest piano exporters, including guitars, basses, electric drums, wind instruments, and more. At present, Sanyi's guitar factory is located in Indonesia, which can provide cheap labor and a large number of high-quality wood resources, and has produced guitars for well-known brands such as Epiphone, Fender, and lbanez. The asymmetrical curved design of the headstock was created by the famous luthier Greg Bennet, and it is truly recognizable in today's guitar making industry where the headstock is the same. The use of dovetail adapter technology instead of glue adhesion at the neck adaptor ensures that the shank and barrel are firm and compact while withstanding the high tension of the strings. The pickup system is also well known, using the same American Fishman pickups as Martin. Tri-benefits mainly focuses on the entry-level and mid-range guitar market, with high cost performance, suitable for beginners and advanced guitar enthusiasts, and the price is generally 1000-5000 yuan. The GD face single series has a thin neck design, and the string distance is well controlled, and it has a stable grip,...

JD.com flagship store Tmall flagship store

14

Score

71

popularity

6566
TOP.15

Kepma Kama Guangdong

Founded in 2009, since its inception, Kama has only been an independent brand, not OEM for other manufacturers. Under the professional and refined business philosophy, there are not many models produced, but each guitar has a good quality and reputation, and it is a domestic guitar manufacturer that has grown rapidly in recent years. Cama's founder, Peng Jinhui, is an avid guitar enthusiast who once went to the United States to visit Ervin Somogyi, the first contemporary violinist, to teach him how to make a violin, and never shied away from emulating Taylor's philosophy of luthiermaking. The main Tap Tuning technology taps the panel, adjusts the beam size, shape and panel thickness according to the spectral data, and matches the stiffness of the panel with the string tension for better responsiveness and open and full sound. The first guitar that most beginners buy is usually around 500 yuan, and Kama's D1C is undoubtedly the king of this price, and there has been a brilliant record of selling 20,000 units a month, so that...

JD.com flagship store Tmall flagship store

15

Score

67

popularity

12810
TOP.16

Starsun Guangdong

Guitar lovers in the 90s, no one will not know the guitar brand Xingchen. In the early days, it was the OEM of the state-owned guitar factory Cotton Cotton, which occupied a huge market share at that time, with an annual output of 1.2 million, which is rare in the world. By 1998, Xingchen began to fully produce its own brand of guitars, but due to the strategic direction of the brand, it seems to be gradually declining. In recent years, Xingchen has frequently held various music activities, and has made great efforts in brand building and brand transformation, which has also allowed Xingchen guitar to re-enter the field of vision of the Chinese people. For Xingchen, the entry-level guitar is still its main battlefield, and it is also very pleasing to beginners in appearance, with lacquer finishes such as smoked color, black, and wood color, and with two kinds of glossy and matte technology, and many practical accessories for beginners, such as thickened guitar bags, capos, electronic tuners, etc. Xingchen's DG220 plywood series has good popularity and sales, and has good competitiveness at the price of 500 yuan. DF series for the ...

JD.com flagship store Tmall flagship store

16

Score

65

popularity

8517

Brand Included Brand Claim

List of related product brands

Top Folk Guitar Brand Rankings

1 20419
Martin

Music History, Martin History. Modern music has only been around for a little over a hundred years, and Martin has been making guitars since 1833. Martin is the creator of the folk guitar, defining the shape, structure, and tone of the folk guitar
2 20039
Lakewood

Founded in 1986 by the famous German luthier Martin Seeliger, Lakewood is an outstanding representative of the classic European piano, with a crystal clear and clean tone, and is the favorite brand of many master guitarists, Korean guitar genius Jung Sung-ha and German fingerstyle godfather U
3 19535
Santa cruz

Santa Cruz is a famous American handmade guitar manufacturer, abbreviated as SCGC, known as the Lamborghini of the guitar world. SCGC doesn't position itself as a traditional guitar factory, but rather as a private custom shop, and they've spent years building a very comprehensive custom program
4 19351
Carpet

Founded in 1946, Carpet is Australia's longest-running and most famous guitar manufacturer. Founder Bill May is known as the founder of the industry by Australian luthiers, and his focus on producing high-quality acoustic guitars has earned him the recognition of internationally renowned virtuoso, M
5 18951
Lowden

Lowden is a handmade guitar brand with a wide audience among musicians in the UK and Europe. With the use of Pierre Bensusan, more and more people have a soft spot for Lowden, guitar masters Eric Roche, Alex De Grassi, Jacques Stotzem, young guitarists
6 14851
Cort Court

Founded in 1960, Kaut is Korea's No. 1 guitar and bass brand. Courter started out in the OEM business and started producing his own brand of guitars after the 70s. Up to now, Court's international influence has been quite extensive, and its reputation in Europe, America and Asia is good
7 13956
Farida

The guitar originated in Spain, developed in the United States, and today the largest production base is in China. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China currently produces 50%-70% of the world's guitar production, and is already the world's largest guitar manufacturer and consumer. From the early days for European and American brands
8 13177
Seagull

Most of the world's leading guitar brands have OEM production in Asia, while the North American musical instrument company Seagull Guitar still has a chain in Canada and the United States, including wood, pickups, related accessories, factories and luthiers. And the seagull is also at its affordable price
9 12906
Takamine

Takamine means peak in Chinese. Unlike Yamaha's affordable mass positioning, Takamine is relatively niche in the domestic market, with an unruly temperament and a diverse style. The spokesperson of the fingerstyle field is Oshio-san, and the well-known user of the rock music field is Kurt Cobain
10 12810
Kepma Kama

Founded in 2009, since its inception, Kama has only been an independent brand, not OEM for other manufacturers. Under the professional and refined business philosophy, there are not many models produced, but each guitar has a good quality and reputation, and it is a domestic guitar manufacturer that has grown rapidly in recent years
11 10472
Eastman

Eastman is a musical instrument brand founded by Chinese-American flutists in Boston, starting with the production of the first violin in 1992, and quickly became popular in the United States with solid workmanship and excellent quality. Today, Eastman has grown into an international complex
12 8517
Starsun

Guitar lovers in the 90s, no one will not know the guitar brand Xingchen. In the early days, it was the OEM of the state-owned guitar factory Cotton Cotton, which occupied a huge market share at that time, with an annual output of 1.2 million, which is rare in the world. By 1998
13 7951
YAMAHA

Founded in Japan in 1887, Yamaha Corporation is one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments, with a product line that includes pianos, guitars, electronic organs, violins, wind instruments, percussion, and other products, each of which has achieved good market results in its own field
14 6566
Samick Sanyi

Founded in 1958, Tri-benefits is Korea's largest integrated manufacturer of musical instruments and one of the world's largest piano exporters, including guitars, basses, electric drums, wind instruments, and more. At present, Mitsuki's guitar factory is located in Indonesia, which is possible
15 6389
Gibson

Gibson was founded in 1902 in Tennessee, USA, and manufactures acoustic and electric guitars. Gibson has been acquired three times in its history, and in May 2018, Gibson officially filed for bankruptcy reorganization, but Gibson's main business will continue as usual, but the strategic direction has been made
16 6197
Taylor Taylor

For more than 150 years before Taylor's appearance, Martin had not faced a rival, but in the last 40 years, Taylor has taken over a large part of the high-end guitar market and posed a great threat to Martin. Compared with Martin's grandeur, Taylor is relatively graceful, emphasizing innovation

2025 Folk Guitar Brand Rankings

Martin United States

Taylor Taylor United States

Lowden Ireland

Gibson United States

Carpet Australia

Santa cruz United States

Lakewood Germany

Eastman United States

Seagull Canada

Farida Guangdong

YAMAHA Japan

Takamine Japan

Cort Court Korea

Samick Sanyi Korea

Kepma Kama Guangdong

Starsun Guangdong

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